EU fines Google 890 million euros in first penalty under the Digital Markets Act
The EU fined Google 890 million euros, its first penalty under the Digital Markets Act, for favoring its own services and restricting app developers.
In Brief
- The European Commission fined Google 890 million euros (about $1 billion) for favoring its own services in search and restricting app developers in the Play Store — the company’s first fine under the Digital Markets Act.
- Google has 60 days to comply or faces additional penalties of up to 5 percent of its worldwide turnover.
- Google’s Kent Walker called the decision “product degradation driven by a small group of self-serving complainants” and said the company is evaluating an appeal.
The European Commission on Thursday fined Google 890 million euros — roughly $1 billion — for giving preferential treatment to its own services in search results and for blocking app developers from steering users to offers outside the Play Store, according to CNBC. It is the first fine Google has received under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act.
The Commission found that Google displays its own services — such as shopping and hotels — “more prominently in search results,” while similar third parties “do not have the same prominence,” per CNBC. The regulator also concluded Google breached the DMA’s anti-steering rules: “In particular, Google prevents app developers from freely communicating and promoting offers and concluding contracts with users in distribution channels of their choice, including third-party app stores,” the Commission said.
The stakes escalate from here. Google has 60 days to comply with the decision or it could face fines of up to 5 percent of its worldwide turnover, CNBC reported. The Commission ordered the company to treat third-party services in search results in a “fair and non-discriminatory manner” and to let Play Store developers promote offers and conclude contracts outside the store.
Google Calls the EU Fine Product Degradation
Google’s response was blunt. “This implementation of the DMA continues to break everyday products. To comply, we are having to strip away real-time Search features Europeans love — like instant pricing and direct availability for hotels, flights, and restaurants — and dismantle safety protections on Google Play,” said Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, in a statement quoted by CNBC.
“This isn’t fair competition; it’s product degradation driven by a small group of self-serving complainants, with European businesses and consumers taking the hit,” Walker added. The company said it is reviewing the decision and evaluating whether to appeal, as Wired reported.
The Commission’s political framing was equally direct. “The best products should succeed because they’re better, not because they’re owned by the company running the search engine,” said Teresa Ribera, an executive vice president at the European Commission, per Wired. “European consumers have a right to be told by app developers where to sign up to the best offers, even when the app store owner does not get a cut.”
A Test Case for the DMA — and for Transatlantic Tension
The fine is the first true enforcement test of the DMA against Google, which the law designates as a “gatekeeper” alongside Apple and Meta. The Commission acknowledged Google has proposed and begun testing changes to how it presents its own services in search — characterizing them as “substantial progress towards compliance” — and said it will monitor implementation, per CNBC.
Legal scholars see a deliberate show of resolve. “Certainly, the stakes are really high for companies. How they are ranked affects their businesses a great deal,” Kathryn McMahon, associate professor of law at the University of Warwick, told Wired, noting that dominant firms carry “a special responsibility not to distort competition” under EU law.
The decision also lands amid U.S. pressure on Brussels over enforcement against American tech firms, a broader fracturing of tech governance that includes China’s push for a parallel AI order — and on a brutal day for Alphabet investors, with the stock already under pressure from its AI capex guidance despite Gemini’s growth momentum. McMahon called the penalty “quite a strong response, in the context of the transatlantic complaints,” telling Wired: “It shows the commission is willing to be tough.”
FAQ
Why did the EU fine Google 890 million euros?
The European Commission found Google favored its own services in search rankings and prevented app developers from steering users to offers outside the Play Store, violating the Digital Markets Act.
What happens if Google does not comply?
Google has 60 days to comply or faces further penalties of up to 5 percent of its worldwide turnover.
Is this Google’s first DMA fine?
Yes. Google has faced numerous EU antitrust penalties over the past decade, but this is its first fine under the Digital Markets Act, which became enforceable in 2024.
